Here is some aggregating of the data and then throwing out some predictions:
Mobile is eating the world also in 2017. As we pass 2.5bn smartphones on earth and head towards 5bn, and mobile moves from creation to deployment.
IHS research institute of the market next year will be 139 million a flexible screens, most of which are in smartphones. Vivo and Xiaomi have already released smart phones with flexible AMOLED screens. Progress has been slowed by the capacity of the display manufacturers, but Samsung Display and LG Display are already building new factories. It is expected that in 2020 the number of flexible screens will be 417 million.
Today’s smartphones utilize a wide array of sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes and various other). New sensors will be added in 2017. Barometric pressure sensor, which measures air pressure, is currently being integrated into premium-grade smartphones and IoT applications. Air pressure sensors in smartphones are useful in navigation and fitness tracking applications but also in weather forecasting.
Rumors surrounding the next iPhone 8 keep coming in 2017. Analysts and market researchers have also predicted a big iPhone update from Apple. Let’s wait to see if this is evolution or revolution. A brief report in The Korea Economic Daily claims that Apple is working with LG on a new dual camera module “which enables 3D photographing. I would be surprised if Apple could come up with something that really revolutionary in 2017.
Virtual Reality Will Stay Hot in 2017. VR is the heaviest heterogeneous workload we encounter in mobile—there’s a lot going on. VR requires high refresh rates with new content every frame. It also needs to calculate data from multiple sensors and respond to it with updated visuals in less than 18 ms to keep up with the viewer’s head motions. To achieve these goals, the phone needs a fast-switching AMOLED display at nearly full brightness running constantly. The skyrocketing popularity of augmented reality (Pokemon Go) and virtual reality (Google VR) may be the boost microelecromechanical systems (MEMS) projectors into the mass market. Integrating micro-lidar (3-D imaging system using invisible infrared beams) to smart phone can become feasible.
Smart phone markets will be still almost completely be in the hands of Apple (iOS) and Google (Android) also in 2017. Microsoft’s Windows phone OS is practically dead in. But that does not stop other player trying to get their spot. For example Samsung wants developers to build apps for its homegrown Tizen mobile operating system, and it is offering cash prizes to do so. Samsung will launch further Tizen-powered smartphones in 2017, but the company is unlikely to swap Android for its home-grown software on high-end devices.
Mobile Video to Grow 50% a Year also n 2017. According to Ericsson’s Mobility Report, mobile data traffic continues to grow, driven both by increased smartphone subscriptions and a continued increase in average data volume per subscription, fueled primarily by more viewing of video content. Ericsson forecasts mobile video traffic to grow by around 50% annually through 2022.
Even though smart watch market has done much worse than expected in 2016, is not forgotter in 2017. Companies need to put effort to convince consumers that wearables — smartwatches specifically — are still in demand. For this Google says it will launch two flagship OEM-branded smartwatches and Android Wear 2.0 in early 2017. The new platform brings a number of new features.
Smartphone is already widely used mobile payment, a person identifying itself and a wide range of services in place, so it is only a matter of time until the driver’s license is transferred to smart phone. In fact, the trend is already on the move, as piloted by Gemalto digital driver’s license in Colorado, Idaho, Maryland and Washington. In the early stages of the digital card functions as a conventional physical card partner.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Mobile Device and Application Testing: Replacing the Live Network
http://defenseelectronicsmag.com/test-measurement/mobile-device-and-application-testing-replacing-live-network?utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=9571&utm_medium=email&elq2=c59672a1e1d54ef1bff08de920e023b6
This paper describes the various methods of device testing available to mobile device application developers and how one of them, network simulation, offers valuable types of information not available from any other test method.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chaos, Progress In Mobile Payment Security
http://semiengineering.com/chaos-progress-in-mobile-payment-security/
Rapid transitions have stalled some development efforts, limited others, but improved security is on the way.
Semiconductor suppliers and their embedded software partners, internally and externally, have made tremendous strides in recent years supporting secure mobile payment processing.
It hasn’t been easy. Or simple. And it’s still evolving.
The result of those efforts, which is now set to play an increasingly important and widespread commercial role in 2017, are trusted execution environment technologies that physically separate and isolate transaction data and processing from the rest of a device’s hardware and software.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Do not charge a smartphone next to bed
For your home fire safety Finnish concern for most home electrical fault and ignition phone or other electronic device to burn, reveals a fresh survey. Yet one in three Finnish charge cell phone next to the bed, survives Verisure commissioned the study.
The most feared of home fire caused by electrical fault, the second largest outbreak of the phone, tablet, or other electronic device, a piece of land and thirdly, on top of the stove forgetting. However, despite the concerns of more than 30 per cent of Finnish, for example, charge their phone next to the bed at night and almost half in the same room, where sleeping.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5807-aelae-lataa-aelypuhelinta-vuoteen-vieressae
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Android Wear 2.0 review: new capabilities, such as Android Pay and installing apps locally, make devices more useful, but bugs can spoil the experience — Are Android Wear 2.0 and two new watches from LG enough to get you to care about smartwatches? — Are you wearing a smartwatch? Not likely.
http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/8/14546312/lg-watch-sport-style-review-android-wear-2-smartwatch
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bryan Clark / The Next Web:
Google gives devs until March 15 to provide a valid privacy policy for apps or risk administrative action including removal of apps from the Play Store
Millions of apps could soon be purged from Google Play Store
https://thenextweb.com/google/2017/02/08/millions-apps-soon-purged-google-play-store/
Over the last 24 hours, Google has been sending notices to developers worldwide stating its intention to “limit visibility” or remove apps from the Play Store that violate the company’s User Data policy. For most devs, the violation seems to be a simple one: lack of a privacy policy.
https://play.google.com/about/privacy-security/user-data/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android Wear: The bloatware that turned into gloatware
2.0 hits the Last Chance Saloon today
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/02/08/android_wear_is_in_the_last_chance_saloon/
Analysis After multiple delays, Google is finally launching Android Wear 2 today, nine months after revealing it to world+dog. This is Google’s last chance to give Wear a purpose, in a market that’s been savage to so many wearables. Otherwise, it’s back to the drawing board.
The Wear platform was rushed out to beat Apple to market, and Google initially signed up an impressive posse of OEMs. Phone giants Motorola, Samsung, Sony and LG were joined by established watch and wearable brands like Fossil and Polar, alongside desperate hopefuls like… Asus.
Today, only LG looks fully committed. According to several leaks, Google will use new versions of LG’s Watch Sport and Watch Style to showcase the Wear platform. Everyone else is sitting it out, or has fled the room, to attend to their burns. Google’s decision to postpone Wear 2.0 to this year meant vendors missed the holiday season. More burns.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android Wear 2.0 Is An Evolutionary Update To Google’s Smartwatch OS
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/17/02/08/2335224/android-wear-20-is-an-evolutionary-update-to-googles-smartwatch-os?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
Google is officially launching Android Wear 2.0 today — the biggest update to the company’s wearable operating system since its launch in 2014. While Android Wear 2.0 will be launching with two new flagship watches from LG — the LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style, a number of existing Wear watches will also get this update in the coming weeks and months.
Android Wear 2.0 is an evolutionary update to Google’s smartwatch OS
https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/08/android-wear-20-is-an-adequate-update/
Tomi Engdahl says:
All Three New 2017 iPhones to Feature Wireless Charging
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/02/09/2017-iphones-wireless-charging/
Apple is widely rumored to launch three new iPhones this year, and KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now claims that all of them will feature wireless charging.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fair Phone is a smartphone, which has not been used in the manufacture of ethically dubious raw materials and which, after its useful life is fully recyclable. Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress presents Fairphonen 2 version. The device owner may also choose the Ubuntu operating system.
The Ubuntu community is UBPorts says that it would launch a new operating system Fairphonelle, because it wants to combine the ethics of sustainability device open platform. Normal operating system in a new Fiarphone2 for Android 5.1.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5823-eettinen-alypuhelin-osa-2-toimii-myos-ubuntulla
Tomi Engdahl says:
MediaTek Launches New Helio SoC
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331329&
MediaTek, Qualcomm’s largest rival in the smartphone silicon business, on Wednesday (Feb. 8) unveiled the Helio P25, an extension of the company’s high-end mobile processor family. The new SoC, made on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s 16nm process, combines eight cores with the company’s proprietary image signal processor (ISP) technology as well as dual-camera features.
The latest product enhances earlier versions of the Helio by combining dual-camera support with power-saving technology and advanced multimedia capabilities, the company said in a press statement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
iPhone Share Drops in China for First Time
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331325&
Apple’s share of China’s smartphone market has dropped for the first time as consumers in the world’s most populous nation show a growing acceptance of locally made handsets, according to market research firm IDC.
The four biggest Chinese companies in the ranking saw their share increase to 57 percent in 2016 from 46 percent in 2015, IDC said in a press statement. In 2016, the world’s largest smartphone market grew by 9 percent annually and 17 percent in the fourth quarter from the third quarter, according to IDC.
Last year was the first time that Apple saw an annual decline in the Chinese market, according to IDC. The world’s largest company saw its iPhone shipments slip to 44.9 million units in 2016 from 58.4 million units in 2015 as its market share dropped 4 percentage points to 9.6 percent.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Samsung Galaxy S8 to be unveiled late next month in New York, with a curved-screen, an AI assistant called Bixby, and in two sizes
With Galaxy S8 Smartphone, Samsung Looks to Hang Up on Note 7 Recall
Company plans New York launch late next month
https://www.wsj.com/articles/with-galaxy-s8-smartphone-samsung-looks-to-hang-up-on-note-7-recall-1486703107
Tomi Engdahl says:
Computer vision and deep learning help smartphone app interpret foreign road signs
http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/2017/02/computer-vision-and-deep-learning-help-smartphone-app-interpret-foreign-road-signs.html?cmpid=enl_vsd_vsdnewsletter_2017-02-13
Swedish startup company Mapillary—which aims to make the world accessible to everyone via crowd-sourced photos—has announced that it has expanded the coverage of its iOS and Android app to be able to recognize traffic signs from more than 60 countries using computer vision and deep learning technology.
Two years ago, the app was able to recognize traffic signs in a few European countries and the United States, but today, the app can recognize more than 500 signs in over 60 countries, including China, South Africa, Japan, Mexico, Slovenia, and more.
Mapillary’s app automatically finds and recognizes objects in geotagged photos submitted from users around the globe. To enable traffic sign recognition, the company uses the deep neural networks, and requires data about the appearances of traffic signs around the world, along with their corresponding meanings.
Towards Global Traffic Sign Recognition
http://blog.mapillary.com/product/2017/02/06/towards-global-traffic-sign-recognition.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Virtual Reality Could Be Your Next Prescription
https://www.designnews.com/content/virtual-reality-could-be-your-next-prescription/197901212949461?cid=nl.x.dn14.edt.aud.dn.20170215.tst004t
Virtual reality startup AppliedVR is working with hospitals like Cedars-Sinai to prove that virtual reality is viable for patient care.
But Cedars-Sinai and AppliedVR have also done research to back up these claims. In a study outlined by Tashjian, a group of patients exposed to VR showed a larger reduction in pain, and were more likely to experience a reduction in pain than a control group that was exposed to television for the same amount of time.
At the end of the study 40% of the TV group reported a reduction in pain after the experience. By contrast 65% of the VR group reported pain reduction. “People watching TV had a reduction in pain, but when you compare that to VR there’s no competition, Tashjian said.” VR has a very unique style of decreasing someone’s pain.”
the experience doesn’t have to be limited to computer-generated environments either. Thanks to devices like the Samsung Gear 360 camera, patients can also have real environments streamed to them in VR and even speak remotely with people.
He also cautioned that VR is not a one-size-fits-all solution. “VR is not for everyone. Why? Because a lot of people come into the hospital that have headaches, nasea, vomiting, seizures, trauma to the face…These patients cannot use VR without adverse effects,” Tashjian said.
Sackman said the number of experiences will only continue to grow and improve as more and more patients go through VR and researchers are able to incorporate biometric data like EEG and heart rate as well as demographic information on VR patients to better cater experiences to individuals.
Virtual reality is being used as an alternative to opioids to manage pain in admitted
hospital patients. This recent success story shows how it may help when nothing else does.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5740ba1f5559869e3a1732fa/t/5796341ee58c62b52212f037/1469461535321/AppliedVR_Case_Study_HospitalizedPainManagement.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
iPhone rose to number one
According to Gartner, the fourth quarter sold a total of 431.5 million smart phone, which is 7 percent more than the year before. Apple rose iPhoneillaan market leader in the low-pass Note 7 painineen with DIFFICULTY Samsung.
Apple sold just over 77 million iPhone quarter. The number is 4.5 million more than the year before. At the same time, Samsung’s sales volume fell 7 million less, so Apple slipped past the market shares (17.9% vs 17.8%).
Huawei increased its sales volume significantly. 40,8 million devices sold marked a 9.5 percent market share.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5843&via=n&datum=2017-02-15_15:12:30&mottagare=30929
Tomi Engdahl says:
Artificial intelligence will become the mainstream in smartphones
Accenture, a recent consumer survey, smartphone sales are expected to grow this year. Growth was driven by new smartphone features, enhanced security and performance, as well as the new artificial intelligence to make use of services such as voice controlled virtual assistants.
Smartphone sales growth, particularly focusing on the Chinese market, since up to 74 percent of Chinese said he intends to buy a smartphone in the next 12 months. This figure is clearly increased 61 per cent last year.
The study The main reason for the smartphone purchase intention was raised that the innovative features of the new phones, which are mentioned by 51 percent of respondents. The current weak performance of the phone mentioned the cause of 45 percent of respondents.
the growth in popularity of speech controlled virtual assistants to accelerate significantly the growth of the smartphone market. – The year 2017 is the year in which artificial intelligence will become the mainstream consumer devices.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5840&via=n&datum=2017-02-15_15:12:30&mottagare=30929
Tomi Engdahl says:
Now Get Weather Alerts Even When Your Mobile Networks Are Down, Thanks To IBM’s Mesh Networking
https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/17/02/15/1828244/now-get-weather-alerts-even-when-your-mobile-networks-are-down-thanks-to-ibms-mesh-networking
Communicating news of severe weather events or natural disasters is something mobile phones are well suited to, but if there’s limited or disrupted network coverage the message may fail to get through.
The Android app, geared specifically for developing countries, uses IBM-developed technology called mesh networking that sends messages directly from one phone to another. The result is that information can propagate even when centralized networks fail. Using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi networks, the app can send data from phone to phone across distances between 200 to 500 feet
Weather app works even when disaster takes out the network
https://www.cnet.com/news/alert-app-weather-app-ibm-mesh-network-disaster/
IBM and the Weather Channel have a new app that sends emergency alerts from one phone to another, bypassing overtaxed mobile networks.
The Android app, geared specifically for developing countries, uses IBM-developed technology called mesh networking that sends messages directly from one phone to another. The result is that information can propagate even when centralized networks fail.
Using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi networks, the app can send data from phone to phone across distances between 200 to 500 feet, IBM Research staff member Nirmit Desai said. It doesn’t add any more battery burden than an ordinary app, and the mesh network can be used without having to reconfigure the phone’s network settings.
It’s a clever technique that’s well suited to regions with subpar networks. But much of the promise of mesh networking remains unfulfilled.
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) effort to bring low-cost Linux-powered computers to developing nations tried using it to improve networking. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt hopes mesh networking will help bypass government censorship. The ZigBee standard for home networking uses it, letting network data hop from one device to another across a home, but most folks haven’t heard of it. Perhaps coming mesh features in future Bluetooth short-range networking will catch on.
One of the biggest mesh challenges is achieving a critical mass of network nodes — in this case, people with phones running the app.
“Having mesh as part of one of the most popular apps helps,” Desai said.
Mesh networks also open open up a new security concern.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Please stop charging your phone in public ports
http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/15/technology/public-ports-charging-bad-stop/
I know the feeling: Your battery is low, but you have to keep tweeting. You see a USB port or an outlet in public, plug in your device and feel the sweet relief of your phone charging.
That comfort could be shattered by an invisible attacker collecting information while your phone is plugged in to a hacked outlet.
“Just by plugging your phone into a [compromised] power strip or charger, your device is now infected, and that compromises all your data,” Drew Paik of security firm Authentic8 explained. Authentic8 makes Silo, a secure browser that anonymizes web activity.
Public charging stations and wi-fi access points are found in places like airports, planes, conference centers and parks, so people can always have access to their phones and data. But connecting your phone to an unknown port has its risks.
The cord you use to charge your phone is also used to send data from your phone to other devices.
If a port is compromised, there’s no limit to what information a hacker could take, Paik explained.
And yet despite the risks, people do it all the time. Even at prominent security conferences.
The company ran an informal social experiment to see how many people would use the public charging stations. Paik said an overwhelming number of attendees — about 80% — connected their phones without asking about the security.
“The majority are plugging in no problem. They are at a security conference and they should know better, but they probably feel safe,” he said. “The others are making fun of them. They just walk by and say, ‘Do people really do that?’”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 17 most useless gadgets of all time: nauseating, crappy and downright silly technology, from a phone that does nothing to the Apple Watch
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/feature/gadget/17-most-useless-gadgets-of-all-time-zero-117637/
Tomi Engdahl says:
FTC Charges Qualcomm With Monopolizing Key Semiconductor Device Used in Cell Phones
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/01/ftc-charges-qualcomm-monopolizing-key-semiconductor-device-used
Company’s sales and licensing practices hamper Qualcomm’s competitors and threaten innovation in mobile communications, according to FTC
The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in federal district court charging Qualcomm Inc. with using anticompetitive tactics to maintain its monopoly in the supply of a key semiconductor device used in cell phones and other consumer products.
Qualcomm is the world’s dominant supplier of baseband processors – devices that manage cellular communications in mobile products. The FTC alleges that Qualcomm has used its dominant position as a supplier of certain baseband processors to impose onerous and anticompetitive supply and licensing terms on cell phone manufacturers and to weaken competitors.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kids technology overload. I blame the parents
http://www.electropages.com/2017/02/kids-technology-overload/?utm_campaign=&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=article&utm_content=Kids+technology+overload.+I+blame+the+parents
Walk round any shopping mall and you’ll see parents pushing their beloved offspring in buggies with the child totally absorbed in the computer tablet or mobile phone they are playing with.
Is this a good thing? Not according to some recent research where 2000 parents were questioned by OnePoll in a study commissioned by Discover Ferries. The overwhelming conclusion was technology is ruining family time together.
As a journalist I get scores of surveys and polls ping into my desktop. Most are about electronic industry trends but this unusual one caught my eye. Apparently 90% of those parents surveyed reckon electronic gadgets get in the way of the family spending time together.
So let me ask one question. Going back to that youngster in the buggy totally fascinated with the electronic gadget locked in their grasp, how did it get there? Did they pop into the Apple Store and lash out £500 for a phone or tablet. Of course they didn’t. It got there because the parents find it an easy way of keeping the little darling quiet while inflicting the mind-numbing tedium of shopping mall trips on them. No wonder so many youngsters get hooked on the technology habit. And it’s a life style habit started by the parents.
So back to those 90% of them whingeing about how technology spoils family time together, I blame them for starting it.
In my view what parents should be doing is first of all taking responsibility for just how much technology time their sprogs are allowed and secondly considering just how many wonderful advantages the microchip has provided younger generations during the past twenty years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.zdnet.com/article/so-how-is-open-source-cyanogenmod-heir-lineageos-doing-after-one-month/
LineageOS, the recently launched successor to CyanogenMod, now has over 500,000 active installs
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/02/suspicious-fitness-tracker-data-busted-a-phony-marathon-run/
Marathon runner’s tracked data exposes phony time, cover-up attempt
A cut corner, a retraced route on a bike, and the Garmin tracker that exposed the lies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The New Nokia 3310 Is Officially Back and So Is the Snake!
http://interestingengineering.com/new-nokia-3310-back-snake/
Nokia just unveiled their new 3310 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It comes with four different colors to choose from and it has a battery life that can last a month on standby.
The new Nokia 3310 will cost about $51 (€49, £41) when it is released later this year
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mobile fair in Barcelona will be on display in addition to new mobile phones and a variety of wearable accessories.
Nokia told to use Withings name in health watches, instead of the Nokia name.
Huawei yesterday announced a new wearable, which also has a SIM card slot.
Huawei public watch-2 does not resemble the existing wearable, but searching for the form language of the traditional wristwatches. The novelty runs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 2100 processor Wear. The watch is available in the SIM card or an integrated eSIM version. 4G, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC connections.
In the past, Samsung has had e-SIM model and Finnish health watch Wergo had a SIM card slot.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/02/27/sim-kortti-tuli-alykelloon/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Matt Humrick / AnandTech:
Sony launches Xperia XZ Premium and Xperia XZs phones with 4GB RAM, 19MP camera, and IP68 dust and water resistance rating — Sony announced today at MWC 2017 that it’s bringing two new premium phones to the US market: the Xperia XZ Premium and Xperia XZs.
Sony Launches Xperia XZ Premium and Xperia XZs Phones For US Market
by Matt Humrick on February 27, 2017 2:45 AM EST
http://www.anandtech.com/show/11162/sony-xperia-xz-and-xperia-xzs-phones-for-us-market
Tomi Engdahl says:
Agam Shah / PCWorld:
Lenovo will integrate Amazon Alexa into a variety of Motorola devices including smartphones, starting with an Alexa “Mod” for the Moto Z — Lenovo and Amazon are partnering to integrate Alexa into Moto smartphones, and the first product will be an Alexa “Mod” attachment for the Moto Z smartphone
Lenovo to integrate Amazon Alexa in Moto smartphones
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3174508/mobile/lenovo-to-integrate-amazon-alexa-in-moto-smartphones.html
Lenovo and Amazon are partnering to integrate Alexa into Moto smartphones, and the first product will be an Alexa “Mod” attachment for the Moto Z smartphone
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Google Assistant begins rolling out to non-Google devices running Android Nougat and Marshmallow, starting in the US — Google continues its march to expand its place in the mobile ecosystem, anchored by the fact that its Android OS is by far the most ubiquitous smartphone platform in the world.
Google Assistant, its AI-based personal helper, rolls out to Nougat and Marshmallow handsets
https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/26/google-assistant-its-ai-based-personal-helper-rolls-out-to-nougat-and-marshmallow-handsets/
Google continues its march to expand its place in the mobile ecosystem, anchored by the fact that its Android OS is by far the most ubiquitous smartphone platform in the world. Today, the company announced that it would be rolling out Google Assistant, its conversational search and AI-based personal helper (and answer to Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa), to smartphones running Google Play services on unforked versions of Android 7.0 (Nougat) and Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), including Android-forward phones like the Nexus and new devices like the LG G6.
Google said Google Assistant will begin rolling out this week to users in the U.S., followed by English speakers in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom; and German speakers in Germany.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Anthony Karcz / Forbes:
Nokia to kill Withings brand and relaunch fitness devices under Nokia name this summer, will also overhaul Health Mate app and launch Patient Care Platform
Nokia Making Big Move Into Digital Health, Relaunching Withings As Nokia This Summer
https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykarcz/2017/02/26/nokia-making-big-move-into-digital-health-relaunching-withings-as-nokia-this-summer/#34ee6c9d2e8c
Announced at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) today, Withings, maker of an entire ecosystem of health tracking products (including my favorite fitness tracker) will be relaunching their products as Nokia brand this summer.
Withings became part of Nokia with a deal last year and has been operating as a key part of their Digital Health division. With all the other big moves Nokia is making this weekend, they’re ready to formally relaunch Withings digital health products as Nokia products.
A big part of the relaunch is an updated Health Mate app that makes it even easier to get all your vital data
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony introduced the Super Slow Motion on smartphone
Sony has introduced tuuden flagship Xperia smartphones at MWC in Barcelona Fair. XZ Premium model is the world’s first smartphone camera with a super slow motion function. According to Sony Motion Eye camera device to record video in super slow motion format and records images before the user presses the shutter button. The device is also the world’s first smartphone with a 4K-level display.
The internal memory allows the recording of video at a rate of 960 frames per second.
Camera has 19 megapixel cell
XZ Premium 5.5-inch display is the world’s first 4K -älypuhelinnäyttö HDR (High Dynamic Range, 2160 x 3840 pixels). The phone is one of the first smartphones with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 R platform.
Xperia XZ Premium will be launched at the turn of May and June. the price of the device is 799 euros.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5914-sony-toi-super-slow-motionin-alypuhelimeen
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia hysteria took over Finland
Yesterday’s ice history of Finnish mobile phone industry, the Nokia-branded smartphones returned to the market in Barcelona. Central-glazed, low-cost, without surprises phones were a novelty in Finland achieved nothing short of hysteria.
The reception actually shows two things to be true. Nokia’s brand is really needed on the market. Old Nokia Fan’s view, it is fantastic that the return is now a reality.
Another thing that yesterday’s reception shows is that the introduction of Nokia to force Windows to the camp six years ago was a bitter and sad error of assessment. If the HMD yesterday’s announcement Global had been made in 2012, the world would be much different in appearance.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5910-nokia-hysteria-valtasi-suomen
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wireless Power Prepares to Hit the Mainstream
http://electronicdesign.com/wireless/wireless-power-prepares-hit-mainstream?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20170227_ED-003_620&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=9862&utm_medium=email&elq2=4e4869f9f9ce45dab5f4b3ab8acfcef0
Fueled by strong opinions from consumers about how devices should charge, wireless-power companies are looking to make wireless charging more accessible while providing “must-have” features.
The growth in awareness and adoption of wireless-charging technologies is quickly climbing. To keep moving forward, suppliers must understand the needs of the consumers in order to develop and launch better products. A survey on wireless power commissioned by the AirFuel Alliance and several of its members (e.g., WiTricity and Energous) looked into consumer perspectives on wireless-charging technology. Among the highlights:
71% want wireless charging in their next device, and they are willing to pay for it in public spaces.
72% say wireless-charging capabilities are important to them, and 62% of those individuals say speed of charge is also critical.
49% don’t even want to think about plugging in their smartphone or putting devices in a precise position to charge; they just want it to happen.
93% think wireless charging will become the new norm over the next three years.
After looking at the survey’s results, it is clear that customers want wireless charging throughout their connected lives—at home, at work, and even when traveling. Ideally, they’d like to get rid of all cords and the different charging ports needed for every device they own.
The issue of longer battery life is related to battery anxiety, which is rather common. According to the survey, 45% of consumers report that they worry about losing the battery’s charge a few times a day. And almost all users of portable-power devices are concerned about their battery dying. This anxiety might be eliminated by making wireless fast-charging solutions easy to access in public spaces—especially since people are willing to pay for this capability.
“Just think—everything has become wireless except for the power cord itself,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Handsets Going Wide, says LG
Smartphones expand aspect ratios in 2017
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331404&
LG Electronics went wide with its latest smartphone and thinks Apple and Samsung will, too. The G6 debuted at Mobile World Congress uses a 5.7-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and dual wide-angle cameras.
“We tried to make the screen the biggest part of this device…we see 18:9 as an emerging format, and many movies are being published or shot in this format this year,”
believes the Apple iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy 8 will both support the 18:9 aspect ratio this year.
“We overhauled the user interface to make use of the 18:9 aspect ratio,”
the SoC drove LG to introduce its first heat pipe in a handset. LG placed the SoC far from its display driver IC, the second hottest chip in the handset.
Tomi Engdahl says:
China’s ZTE released in Barcelona at MWC fair in the new Blade V8 smartphone
ZTE’s according to novelty is the only smartphone, the camera offers bokeh, shallow depth of field and the ability to function in 3D photography price range. Its dual camera, it is possible to take pictures with a short depth of field range. VR viewing experience complemented with the included glasses. In addition, the phone has a fingerprint reader
Both ZTE Blade V8 that Nokia 6 represent today’s middle-class smart phones, where competition is extremely fierce.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5932-tata-vastaan-uudet-nokialaiset-tappelevat
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Smartphone’s Victims
https://www.statista.com/chart/8291/smartphone-vs-other-gadgets/
As the mobile industry is gathering in Barcelona this week to show off the latest trends in smartphone technology, it’s time to spare a thought for those devices that have fallen victim to the smartphone’s unstoppable rise.
Ten years ago – the iPhone had just been unveiled but was yet to be unleashed on the world – we used to rely on a variety of devices to help us complete different tasks. Most of us had a mobile phone to text and make calls, an MP3 player to listen to music, a digital camera to take vacation pictures and a navigation system to help us find our vacation home in the first place. What a difference ten years make. These days, we only need one device to do all of the above and sales of non-smartphone gadgets have subsequently plummeted.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung Chief Charged With Bribery And Embezzlement
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/28/517738220/samsung-chief-charged-with-bribery-and-embezzlement
The acting head of Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, has been charged with bribery and embezzlement in connection with the corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of South Korea’s president.
“Samsung acting head Lee Jae-Yong got ensnared after documents showed Samsung funneled some $36 million to the president’s close confidant. Prosecutors say the money was paid to win government support of a controversial 2015 company merger.”
Reuters reported that four other Samsung executives also were charged with bribery and “hiding assets overseas,” among other crimes, and that the company had announced the resignations of three of the four.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-politics-idUSKBN1670G2
Tomi Engdahl says:
shrinking the role of the computer to browse the web
Adobe Digital Insights report, the smart phone is the device most used by European Internet traffic. Europe, the number of website visits in smartphones increased by 156 percent since 2014. In the same period, visits to your website tablets grew by 6 per cent, while the number of visits to the website on a desktop computer decreased by 25 per cent.
Although the number of application downloads will rise in January, the general trend of decline in app downloads. From 2014 to 2016 the number of app downloads in the United States fell by 38 per cent and 5 per cent in Europe.
Adobe’s analysis shows that in 2014-2016 the share of smartphones digital devices has only grown. At the same time the proportion of tablets has fallen. The trend is strongest in emerging countries, where the tablets share has dropped to 27 per cent.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5923-tietokoneen-rooli-kutistuu-verkkoselailussa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Safest phones based on Android
On the side of the smartphone market is a small niche area in which the requirements are very different. Enforcement and intelligence agencies need to fully secure devices. There are several, from Finland, and common to all of them is that the phones are Andrdoi-based manufacturers.
Security phones Oululainen Bittiumin Tough Mobile is known in Finland certainly the best. The device has components that detect physical intrusion. All user information is strongly encrypted (AES-256). The data can be wiped with one push of a button, and the same can also be done EEA.
Sectra The Dutch, in turn, announced that it has received the Barcelona MWC fair in the Tiger / R-designs with NATO Restricted approval.
Blackberry praises DTEK50-model “the world’s safest.” It has its own software, which continually monitors the operating system and applications.
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing and Blackberry Common Black-enabled smartphone is multi-intelligence service. It encrypts all data traffic and all the data is disposed of at the touch of a button.
One of the best-protected and probably the most expensive security phone is an Israeli Sirin Labs Solar, which comes with a price in excess of EUR 15 thousand.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/72-ecf/5945-turvallisimmat-puhelimet-perustuvat-androidiin
Tomi Engdahl says:
Small displays will disappear from smartphones
The growth of smartphone sales almost came to a halt last year, but IDC predicts the market to leave this year to rise again. Big trend in smart phones is the screen size increase. Last year, three of the four Android device display was at least five inches. In 2021 the number will rise to 91 per cent.
They suggest the growth will be 4.2 per cent this year and 4.4 percent next year. This means that next year sold 1.77 billion smartphone.
Growth will be fastest in emerging markets and the 150-200 dollar price range.
Market shares, IDC does not see a major change in the near future. Android holds 85 percent of the market, iOS in the possession of the rest.
Last year was the first in the history of the iPhone, the sales volume shrank from the previous year. IDC now believes that sales of the iPhone starts to rise again.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5939-pienet-naytot-katoavat-alypuhelimista
Tomi Engdahl says:
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
KGI: 2017 iPhone will retain Lightning port and will add fast charging via USB-C Power Delivery — All three iPhones rumored to be launched in 2017 will retain Lightning connectors with the addition of USB-C Power Delivery for faster charging, including an all-new OLED model
Ming-Chi Kuo Says All 2017 iPhones Will Have Lightning Connectors With USB-C Fast Charging
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/03/02/iphone-8-lightning-usb-c-power-delivery/
All three iPhones rumored to be launched in 2017 will retain Lightning connectors with the addition of USB-C Power Delivery for faster charging, including an all-new OLED model with a larger L-shaped battery and updated 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
An excerpt from his latest research note obtained by MacRumors:
New 2H17 models may all support fast charging. We believe all three new iPhones launching in 2H17 will support fast charging by the adoption of Type-C Power Delivery technology (while still retaining the Lightning port).
Tomi Engdahl says:
CNET:
MWC 2017 recap: retro phones, no Samsung handsets, 5G hype, shrinking bezels, and less VR gear
MWC 2017: Everything you missed from the world’s biggest phone show
https://www.cnet.com/news/mwc-2017-final-wrapper/
Retro phones, shrinking bezels, 5G on deck and Samsung’s no-show: That was the Mobile World Congress that was.
1. What’s old is new: Nokia, BlackBerry and Moto
2. No Samsung phone, and it showed
3. 5G everywhere
4. ‘Bezel-less’ phones
5. Who had the most interesting gadgets? Startups
6. A few more things besides
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows Mobile devices will disappear this year
Windows mobile operating system seems to get in time 15 years of age before he disappeared. The first Windows Mobile was introduced in 2003 and this year, Windows Phone smartphones will disappear, says IDC.
IDC predicted course not literally true. The market next year is somewhat devices with current Windows 10 operating. However, the Windows smartphone market share will fall to zero.
Windows Mobile was the peak of popularity in 2008, when the market share was 13 per cent.
Windows Mobile waned Microsost renewed its platform as Windows Phone in 2010 (highest market share 3.3 per cent in 2013, vast majority of Windows Mobile devices were Nokia’s new Lumia devices).
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5954-windows-katoaa-kannykoista-tana-vuonna
Tomi Engdahl says:
Xiaomi follows Apple, Samsung and Huawei – makes own chip designs
Qualcomm is still the clear market leader in smartphone chips, but drive slowly fade away. This is due to the fact that the big manufacturers are planning and processed on ARM-based circle itself. Most recently, this has been decided to use the Chinese Xiaomi.
Xiaomi has introduced its first own cellphones circle system, which has received the name of Surge S1. It is an 8-core circuit, with four 2.2 GHz A53-cores and four 1.4 GHz A53-core. Graphics will ensure ARM’s quad-core processor MaliT860. It is manufactured in 28-nanometer process.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5951-xiaomi-seuraa-applea-huaweita-ja-samsungia
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Nokia 3310 won’t work in the US, but that could change
http://www.techspot.com/news/68379-nokia-3310-wont-work-us-but-could-change.html
Nokia/HMD Global had the one stand at Mobile World Congress that was completely packed from start to finish. While the firms’ Nokia 6 looks to be an excellent mid-range handset, most people were there to get a look at the modern incarnation of the Nokia 3310. Both phones were deserved ‘Best of MWC’ winners, but it seems the retro device won’t work in many countries across the world, including the US and Canada.
While the Nokia 3310 is an updated version of a classic piece of tech, it still features some of the original’s specs, including the frequencies used to connect to the networks – 900MHz and 1800MHz. The problem is that most carriers in the US and Canada no longer support these old bands. CNET notes that to work with a carrier such as AT&T, the 2G-only phone would have to use the 850MHz frequency in addition to 1900MHz.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Social Media Are Driving Americans Insane
Almost half say they are “constant checkers.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-23/social-media-is-driving-americans-insane
If you pull out your phone to check Twitter while waiting for the light to change, or read e-mails while brushing your teeth, you might be what the American Psychological Association calls a “constant checker.” And chances are, it’s hurting your mental health.
Last week, the APA released a study finding that Americans were experiencing the first statistically significant stress increase in the survey’s 10-year history. In January, 57 percent of respondents of all political stripes said the U.S. political climate was a very or somewhat significant source of stress, up from 52 percent who said the same thing in August. On Thursday, the APA released the second part of its 1 findings, “Stress In America: Coping With Change,” examining the role technology and social media play in American stress levels.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google’s Gboard will now translate text into another language as you type
A powerful translation integration for Android users
http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/9/14864048/google-gboard-keyboard-android-google-translate
Google is bringing a suite of new features to the Android version of its Gboard keyboard, including a Google Translate integration that will translate any text you type into a desired language in real time. This feature expands upon the company’s Now on Tap translation integration from last year that lets users hold down the home button to translate any screen of foreign text.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia 3310 more popular than any of the flagship
HMD Global, presented the Barcelona Mobile World Congress, three new Android smart phone, but the biggest outcry has caused a page taken as a project re-edition of the old peak of the popular 3310 model. The device has got a real hype in the world.
For example, a British phone retailer Carphone Warehouse says that 3310 has attracted people ten times more than any of Barcelona published the manufacturers flagship model.
Also, sales of the old 3310 phones has grown wildly after re-launch. For example Ebay-store devices have gone on sale and are traded quickly.
This phenomenon is peculiar and a Finnish point of view, also excellent. Series30-based New but old 3310 does not provide users with properly nothing more wonderful than the 22-hour talk time and a month-long standby time. And, of course, the worm game.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5991-nokia-3310-suositumpi-kuin-yksikaan-lippulaiva
Tomi Engdahl says:
The global eMMC market is expected to reach 2.1 billion units by 2020, driven by the rapid growth in mobile device sales and robust increase in data consumption on mobile devices
Source: andestech.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d6a4ca0422aef7693d9cdf473&id=23e8676eb9&e=749df3eb22
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket, a connected smart jacket that uses Google’s Project Jacquard touch sensitive textiles tech, will ship this fall for about $350 — A delayed product is better than no product — The connected denim smart jacket made in partnership between Levi’s …
Google and Levi’s connected smart jacket will come out this fall and costs around $350
A delayed product is better than no product
http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/11/14894088/google-atap-levis-project-jacquard-jacket-price-release-date
The connected denim smart jacket made in partnership between Levi’s and Google’s ATAP division now has a price tag, but its release date has been pushed from this spring to the fall. The jacket, which will cost around $350 when it goes on sale, is the first commercial product containing ATAP’s Project Jacquard technology, which uses conductive fabric to turn a standard article of clothing into a connected device of sorts that can send instructions to your smartphone, like pausing or skipping a song that’s playing by double tapping your wrist. Think of its functions as similar to those of a smartwatch, but less obtrusive and certainly a lot more stylish.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Andrew Martonik / Android Central:
Huawei Watch 2 review: looks good, dust and water-resistant, but feels cheap, and priced too high, making it a poor successor to original
Huawei Watch 2 review: No time for this half-baked sequel
http://www.androidcentral.com/huawei-watch-2
Huawei built up a lot of good will over the past two years, only to let it slide in 2017.
The original Huawei Watch was a go-to choice for those who wanted an Android Wear watch that was a bit sleeker and better built than most other choices throughout 2016. It was a bit on the expensive side, and yes it was thick, but it had a slick exterior and lugs that could adapt to just about any sort of band you wanted to put on it. When Android Wear 2.0 was readying for launch, fans awaited a refresh of the Huawei Watch for 2017 that could carry on that good will.
And then, we got this: the Huawei Watch 2. A watch so clearly not designed in any way to be a successor to the original Huawei Watch, and unfortunately also not built to the same hardware standards. The Huawei Watch 2 actually had a last-minute branding change from “Huawei Watch 2 Sport,”
This is a clean break from the original Huawei Watch in terms of everything but branding. This is a big, feature-packed watch, but unfortunately one that takes a different direction in quality while retaining a high price. Does it have enough to stand out from what is already a growing crowd of 2017 Android Wear 2.0 watches?
Huawei Watch 2 Bottom line
Huawei unfortunately squandered the good will it built up over the past two years with the original Huawei Watch. The Huawei Watch 2, while retaining a sequential naming convention, is in no way a worthy step up from the original. To its credit Huawei did execute on the core feature set we expect in order to recommend an Android Wear 2.0 watch: good performance, a full spec sheet and solid battery life.
Unfortunately, it’s the fringe decisions that don’t give you the feeling that this is a complete product. The Huawei Watch 2′s design seems fine from a sport watch perspective, but the build quality and materials are far from great.